Deutsche Bank co-CEO Fitschen faces trial over Kirch case

MUNICH/FRANKFURT, March 2 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank
co-CEO Juergen Fitschen faces a lengthy trial
connected to the Kirch bankruptcy after a court agreed to hear
the case in a blow to one of Germany's most powerful bankers and
a setback for its largest bank.

The Munich district court on Monday decided to let the
prosecution proceed with a trial of Fitschen and four former
executives at the bank following months of deliberation.

While widely expected, the prospect of a lengthy trial adds
to legal headaches facing Deutsche, which plans to unveil a new
strategy as early as the end of this month.

A spokesman said it was Deutsche Bank's policy not to
comment on ongoing litigation. "The presumption of innocence
applies to all former and current management board members," he
said.

The trial, scheduled to begin on April 28, will see Fitschen
joined on the defendants' bench by former CEOs Josef Ackermann
and Rolf Breuer and two former management board members, Clemens
Boersig and Tessen von Heydebreck.

Prosecutors last year requested a trial after investigating
whether the accused gave misleading evidence in a civil suit,
brought by heirs of the late media magnate Leo Kirch, which
ended in February 2014 after 12 years of legal wrangling.

Those facing the allegations could not be immediately
reached for comment on Monday. Deutsche Bank has previously said
that it is "convinced that any suspicion against Juergen
Fitschen will be shown to be unfounded".

KIRCH SAGA

Klaus Nieding, spokesman for Germany's small shareholders
association DSW said similar processes have proven lengthy but
that the bank's dual-CEO structure would allow Fitschen to
continue in his job through the duration.

"It's another black stain for the bank," Nieding added.

The prosecutor alleges that Fitschen testified in the civil
suit in a way to avoid discrediting fellow bankers in order that
the case be dismissed, according to a prosecutor's media
statement released in September 2014.

Fitschen and Anshu Jain took over as co-CEOs in 2012. The
bank has been dogged by legal woes, including investigations
into possible manipulation of benchmark interest rates and
foreign exchange markets, as the duo work to meet strict new
capital requirements from regulators.

Kirch, who died in 2011, blamed the country's largest lender
for his group's demise, setting off one of Germany's most
acrimonious corporate disputes, which was settled in a deal
costing Deutsche about 925 million euros ($1 billion).

The bank's supervisory board will support Fitschen if the
case comes to trial, two sources on the board told Reuters last
year.

Fitschen's predecessor Ackermann ran Deutsche while spending
months in the courtroom in the Mannesmann case in 2006.
Ackermann and other defendants ultimately ended the case by
agreeing a cash settlement with authorities.